Feb 052018
Washington Counties Challenge: A Statewide Bikespedition To-Do List

Updated March 22, 2023
Bike challenges motivate some people, while others say they just ride their bike to ride their bike. I ride my bike without needing a challenge to inspire me, but at the same time have fun with the sense of accomplishment that goes with checking something off a list (as with coffeeneuring, errandonnee, and 30 Days of Biking).
When I was a teenager trying to organize myself (oh, who am I kidding, I still do this) I’d make a list that included things I had already done so I could have the satisfaction of checking them off. It felt like a running start.
It is in that spirit that I announce my own personal challenge: Ride in every county in Washington. And not just a “wheel around the parking lot at a rest area” ride — a ride that lets me experience what it’s like for people who ride there all the time.

With Betsy Lawrence, co-founder with me of Belles and Baskets, riding the Spokane Commute of the Century during Bike to Work Week 2014.
I’m kicking it off with this list of all 39 counties that includes notes from memory about the type of riding I’ve done in that county or what makes it memorable for me. My work at WSDOT as Director of the Active Transportation Division should help me get around to some of the ones I haven’t yet visited.
The list also makes a great excuse to reread Cycling Sojourner: A Guide to the Best Multi-Day Bicycle Tours in Washington* and to create some weekend bike-tour getaway itineraries. As I review the list I realize I’ve been in some counties for meetings about bicycling without going bicycling — definitely some opportunities missed along the way thanks to the pressures of a full schedule and the travel time to get to and from a destination.
An invitation: If you have an idea for a really great reason to visit a particular county and check it out on two wheels let me know in the comments or email me at work. That will help me put another county name in boldface to show I’ve ridden there.
Adams County
Asotin County
Benton County
Greatly enjoyed riding the Sacajawea Heritage Trail on both sides of the Columbia River. Like the Apple Capital Loop Trail, this route lets me pick up two counties in one beautiful ride.
This is also where I learned the term “goathead”, as in, “Don’t ride over anything green on the trail — it might be a goathead.” Growing up in farm country outside Lewiston, Idaho, we called it puncture weed and learned not to walk barefoot in the driveway.
Chelan County
Apple Capital Loop Trail is tons of fun and I’ve had the chance to ride a bit of the Rocky Ridge extension.
I’ve biked in and around downtown Wenatchee quite a few times — love that they have a bike repair station available 24/7 and Pybus Market offers lots of delicious restaurants.
Bikes Are Blooming in Wenatchee
Wenatchee will forever remain most memorable as “the town where Hubs broke his face” after a spectacular crash my bike-racing husband had in the Tour de Bloom.
Leavenworth stands out in my memory for the bike lanes on either side of the state highway that runs through downtown, and as a place with perhaps more bike parking than I’ve ever seen in a small town. All the racks were in use.

Downtown Wenatchee: bike vending machine near walk/bike bridge over RR tracks. pic.twitter.com/k22ZM2Gnqb

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) May 26, 2017

Clallam County: Several visits to Port Angeles and rides both through town to meetings with local bike advocates and along the Olympic Discovery Trail. Our 2018 bike tour included several days in Port Angeles and at Lake Crescent.
Clark County: Several trips to Vancouver — nice bike connections in a revitalized area of downtown, the cool land bridge over the freeway, and trail segments alongside highways and on bridges that facilitate connectivity and commuting. And yes, this is yet another place I enjoy getting to by train with my bike. So easy to ride away from the station, stop somewhere for coffee, see things at a human pace.
Heading to Vancouver meeting of TIB via the very cool land bridge over I5. #BikeVanWa @WAbikes #RideInTheRain pic.twitter.com/vKF0LSBAa8
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) November 16, 2017

Columbia County: Both happy and sad memories. Happy because this was the very first place I rode my bike after recovering from my broken elbow — a slow and cautious roll through downtown and along the short stretch of trail by the Touchet River. Sweet Hubs and I stayed at the historic Weinhard Hotel. Sad because we were on our way to my brother’s funeral. I scheduled the journey as a multi-day trip to have time to leave my day-to-day life behind and prepare myself, which wasn’t entirely possible but it was a good decision.

Cowlitz County: Rode around Longview a bit, met with local advocates at a coffee shop. One of the things that stuck with me was the contrast between biking on a wide, busy arterial, then turning into a quiet older street with shade trees and a coffee shop with a bike rack out front.

Douglas County: Conveniently located on the Apple Capital Loop Trail, making it easy to check off two counties with one loop. I stay with my friend Deb in East Wenatchee whenever I’m in town for work or pleasure (hi Deb!) so I get in some neighborhood riding as well as the more obvious trail time.

Ferry County: Haven’t ridden it yet but the Ferry County Rail Trail is on my #BikeIt list.

Franklin County: Thanks to the Sacajawea Heritage Trail along the Columbia River, as noted above.

Garfield County

Grant County: I can’t quite check this box. Although at the 2021 opening of the Beverly Bridge my tires did cross from Kittitas County into Grant County, I was so bushed from fighting the wind across the bridge that I just turned around and went back. Another time!

Grays Harbor County: We did a weekend getaway to Westport in 2015. While Sweet Hubs volunteered at a bike race in Montesano I biked to Westport on a route that included a nice section of trail through Aberdeen. Sweetie met me there with the car and we spent a quiet weekend on the ocean looking at sea lions (right on the dock!) and enjoying the quiet. On the way back we stopped and tasted cranberry wines; there’s an Ocean Spray bottling plant in the area too.

Island County: Added this one to the list on day two of our long bike tour through northwest Washington state in 2018 with some expert advice from a local to help us pick a good route mostly away from the highway.

Jefferson County: Memorable for a trip I made as executive director of Washington Bikes in around 2013. We went for the kickoff of a program to get kids moving, during which I visited The Recyclery community bike shop and we all held an impromptu parade following a guy on a bike pulling a boombox on his trailer. We rode straight into town and along the Main Street, made a couple of loops in a parking lot, and rode back and forth, with such low car traffic volume that we didn’t block anyone and everyone who saw us laughed and waved. Lots of bike-bell ringing along the way.

In 2018 I visited a few more times on our multi-day bike tour and again on a getaway weekend during my run when we rode out to Fort Worden for breakfast on a gorgeous, cold sunny day.

#Coffeeneuring : Rode from downtown Port Townsend to Fort Worden State Park for a delicious breakfast at Reveille in The Commons. Local angel helper Jan at the next table gave us advice on a route back that wouldn’t have nearly as many steep hills. GORGEOUS DAY. pic.twitter.com/5K7ZFGPlOq

— Barb Chamberlain (@BarbChamberlain) October 27, 2019

King County: I lived there 2012-2020 so…. yeah. And it’s where I started my professional life in bike advocacy after years of volunteering. Just a few of the places I’ve ridden:
Trails: Duwamish Trail (on almost every ride to downtown Seattle). Burke-Gilman Trail. Elliott Bay Trail (another part of my route to downtown). 2nd Ave. protected bike lane and the recent added PBL on Pike. Melrose Trail above I-5, which sometimes features the added visual of drivers stuck in non-moving traffic congestion as I pedal merrily along. East Lake Sammamish Trail. The I90 trail east across Lake Washington. The Cross-Kirkland Corridor section of the Eastside Rail Corridor (with Cong. Suzan DelBene and a bunch of people celebrating the trail). And of course, the very very awesome longest floating bike/walk path in the world, the SR520 Trail.
Towns: Enumclaw. Burien. White Center. Tukwila. Woodinville.
Major rides that take me through more towns and trails: Woodinville Wine Ride. Ride for Major Taylor. Emerald City Ride.
Day 29 #30DaysOfBiking: @CascadeBicycle Ride for Major Taylor rocked. 24 miles — farthest since elbow break last July. Woohoo! pic.twitter.com/3YlLO22D7G
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) April 29, 2017

I’m on the I90 express lanes. On my bike. #EmeraldBikeRide pic.twitter.com/rOSKuqcPjy

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) May 28, 2017

Kitsap County: An easy ferry ride away from Seattle. One memorable trip: A ride from the African American Museum in Seattle to catch the ferry and go to the Bainbridge Art Museum (one of Cascade Bicycle Club’s free group rides). Four of us on the ride, wonderful art, and especially enjoyable as one of the earliest rides I did post-broken-elbow-recovery. I also biked there in 2013 on one of my trips to meet with local advocates at Silverdale Cyclery.

Great @CascadeBicycle ride w/@merlinrain, Phyllis Porter, and Nance to see beautiful art by Barbara Earl Thomas on Bainbridge Island. pic.twitter.com/cIpK7tvwY3

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) September 24, 2016

Kittitas County:
Memorable for the very windy 10-mile loop I rode with guys from the ReCycle Shop. I felt so good and strong in the first leg of the roughly square route thinking I was just scooting along. Then we turned and I realized that was a tailwind….
At a meeting of the Cooper Jones Bicyclist Safety Advisory Council we took a quick walking tour of their new bike boulevard led by City Council member Nancy Lilquist. I tweeted out a few photos that led to People for Bikes doing an article on the project, then listing it as one of 2017’s best new bikeways in America.
The boulevard visit followed previous ones during which I met with Nancy and other local leaders, talked up bike tourism, celebrated with Nancy when her work on the Bicycle Friendly Community application resulted in Ellensburg being named a Silver BFC — lots of reasons to go bike in Ellensburg (including Winegar’s Ice Cream — just sayin’).
In 2021, another memorable ride April 8 at the opening of the Beverly Bridge across the Columbia River. If I thought it was windy on that ride in Ellensburg, that was nothing compared to the stiff wind that day! One of those winds you can lean your bike against, for real. Such a historic moment, such a critical link in the cross-state bike network.
Riding to the Beverly Bridge. pic.twitter.com/qW1XdQOjJR
— Barb Chamberlain (@BarbChamberlain) April 8, 2022

Bike boulevard in Ellensburg. Effort spearheaded by City Council member Nancy Lilquist. pic.twitter.com/3fpq3uQ0rC

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) November 20, 2017

Ellensburg come to @TheReCycleShop Thursday 5/26 4:30pm, talk w/@barbchamberlain https://t.co/ssfSCqibXZ pic.twitter.com/I2CSpTKF2k
— Washington Bikes (@WAbikes) May 22, 2016

Klickitat County

Lewis County

Lincoln County

Mason County

Okanogan County

Pacific County: Rode on the Discovery Trail in Long Beach in March 2023 on creaky single-speed bikes from our hotel. Delightful ride through the sea grass in brisk coastal air and sunshine. Saw a red starfish on the beach, two giant bald eagles.

Pend Oreille County: Holds the title of “First place I ever biked 50 miles.” This was on the Great Northwest Fall Tour in 2007, a beautiful ride the Newport Rotary put on. It served as a run-up to Tour des Lacs a few weeks later, a ride that no longer occurs and which still stands as the longest one-day mileage I’ve ridden (94).

Pierce County: One of my favorite things to do when I get the opportunity: take Amtrak Cascades or Sounder to Tacoma with my bike, get off and ride around the waterfront or go to the museums like the Washington State Historical Museum and the Chihuly Glass Museum.

Love riding along the waterfront in downtown Tacoma. #bike253 pic.twitter.com/yljFE7C1NG

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) December 5, 2017

San Juan County: Strangely enough, for the longest time I hadn’t done the kind of biking that the San Juan Islands are famous for, touring all around. My younger sister lives in Friday Harbor so I’ve biked from the ferry landing to her house and back again any number of times — bikes + ferries make for an awesome, easy, fun way to get to the islands. My “someday” island tour took place in 2018 with a stop in Friday Harbor and some time on Lopez Island, known as “Slo-pez” for its easygoing vibe.
Skagit County:
Lots of stops in Anacortes — some to catch the ferry, some for events in Anacortes like the ribbon-cutting on the west end of US Bicycle Route 10. Rode the Tommy Thompson Trestle one trip, and on another trip got to ride an old Japanese mamachan bike on a little stretch of the Guemes Channel Trail.
#WAbikes Exec Dir @barbchamberlain, Sec Lynn Peterson & Paula Reeves of @WSDOT, #WAbikes board John Pope, Anacortes pic.twitter.com/IGyeeIdDr0
— Washington Bikes (@WAbikes) September 14, 2014

Another great train destination: Mount Vernon. I had the chance to do a really fun tour of their growing bike infrastructure in 2016, including a newly opened underpass below I-5 that connected Mount Vernon and Burlington for people walking and biking, the riverwalk they’re constructing along the Skagit River in downtown Mount Vernon, and more.

I saw more of Skagit County in 2018 on a bike/train trip during the Tulip Festival and on the long tour, riding from Anacortes to Mount Vernon.

Day 18 #30DaysOfBiking: What a perfect day to bike to Skagit Tulip Festival fields, and what beautiful abundance. pic.twitter.com/9C77pj3sBW

— Barb Chamberlain (@BarbChamberlain) April 19, 2018

Riverwalk in @MountVernonWA. pic.twitter.com/k0MtgiTlmk
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) May 17, 2017

Skamania County

Snohomish County: Destination for the first multi-day bike tour Sweet Hubs and I did, plenty of rides along the Snohomish Centennial Trail including one with Cong. Rick Larsen, and day trips to Mukilteo to enjoy the waterfront.

Bed, Breakfast & Biking: Getaway to Lake Stevens and More, Day One

Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Two: Marysville

Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Three: Arlington via Snohomish Centennial Trail

Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Four: Back to Seattle

Seattle to Edmonds — Day Trip to the Salish Sea

Hello, pie. Come to Mama. Snohomish Pie Company fuels our bike ride home. #bikesnoco #bikesmeanbusiness #biketravel pic.twitter.com/za3iRBpzsk

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) September 1, 2014

Spokane County: Where I started my serious daily commute habit, this blog, the bike advocacy that led to a change of profession and hometown, and a lot of other bike-related things — so many memories I can’t list them. A few:
Spokefest
Summer Parkways
Starting Spokane Bikes with a ton of great people
Belles and Baskets (no longer publicly active but such a good time riding with bike women)
Riding new infrastructure like the Children of the Sun Trail and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (before it opened)
Doing an Ignite Spokane talk about how bikes can save the world
Small moments of bike smells and weather and winter and night
Stevens County: Gorgeous riding here in the quiet piney corner of Washington. I rode the Colville Rotary’s Blazing Saddles bike ride (and chili feed) in celebration of a ribbon-cutting for the first US Bicycle Route to be designated in Washington state (also the first one designated on the West Coast).
Look at this in mirror to see what I earned riding “The Burn” at end of Blazing Saddles, Colville. Woohoo! pic.twitter.com/QZ5FLKUlmv
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) September 20, 2014

Thurston County: First ride here was the Interagency Bike Ride on Bike to Work Day back when I was still pretty new as executive director at Washington Bikes. I went back for other Bike to Work events and rode the Chehalis-Western Trail. I went to work for WSDOT and took my bike with me whenever I made a trip down for meetings, sometimes staying the night with friends (hi, Stefanie and Corey, maker of custom bikes!) and bike commuting to WSDOT HQ. If the schedule permitted I took Amtrak to Lacey, then biked to Olympia: a flat, pleasant ride along the Chehalis-Western and Woodland trails. And then finally in 2020 I moved to Olympia so now this is my regular riding playground. We chose a bike-friendly neighborhood, and I have quiet residential streets, busier streets with bike lanes, and trails connecting me to just about any destination I want to reach. !

Day 20 #30DaysOfBiking: Started rainy, now mild as I round Capitol Lake. Look: Tessa is as big as the Legislative Bldg dome! #bikeOLY pic.twitter.com/NmHEZkeZos

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) April 21, 2017

Wahkiakum County
Walla Walla County: My first ride here was the Ann Weatherill Classic, a ride through lovely country that’s sadly no longer put on by the local bike club. Memorable among other things for ending with fabulous strawberry shortcake.
Whatcom County: Love riding in Bellingham, and it’s yet another great train ride from Seattle.
In 2017 I was there for a meeting that happened to coincide with Bike to Work Day; local bike educator/advocate Mary Anderson led me on an easy tour of several Energizer Stations. We wound up at the big pancake breakfast held at The Hub Community Bike Shop — super awesome turnout, lots of family and cargo bikes, and an eco-friendly setup with all of us using real plates we took to a washing-up station.
Also very very notable trip for including my first-ever trip to the shrine, the center of all things bike style: Nuu-Muu World Headquarters. For those who don’t know the story Nuu-Muus inspired the pop-up bike style business I had for a while in Spokane. I loved those dresses so much I needed to evangelize/sell them to other people.
Touring Bellingham by bike. First stop: The shrine, AKA @nuu_muu HQ! #bikestyle pic.twitter.com/iz7BGPczY2
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) May 19, 2017

Thanks for ride around #Bellingham @barbchamberlain and @bikemaryea. You give us hope! #BikeEverywhere #bikeBHAM pic.twitter.com/OeEGjWoUSX

— Walk Bike Bus Bham (@WBB_Bham) May 23, 2017

Ride to @Amtrak_Cascades along South Bay Trail in Bellingham is delightful. #BikeEverywhere #bikeBHAM @WAbikes #trails pic.twitter.com/EfSLbNV7zl
— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) May 20, 2017

Whitman County: I graduated from WSU but never rode a bike while I lived there. I’ve rectified that a few times since then riding around downtown and up to campus. On my first trip there as executive director of Washington Bikes I got to hear Mia Birk speak, which was cool. More recently I was there for meetings and rode the Bill Chipman Trail to Moscow for a delicious dinner.

Yakima County: Another place with a nice trail, the Yakima Greenway. I’ve been there several times, including a great infrastructure tour in 2017 led by the WSDOT regional bicycle/pedestrian coordinator with lots of people from the local bike club and Yakima Bikes and Walks. Notable among other things for including a site where WSDOT installed green paint to indicate a bike lane across a highway intersection — something that only appears in one other place on the state system as of February 2018.

Great day touring Yakima bike infrastructure w/@wsdot SW Region staff, local riders. Green paint by @wsdot=1st in Yakima. #bikeYAK #bikeWA pic.twitter.com/PBIPIdCXGE

— Barb Chamberlain (@barbchamberlain) September 21, 2017

Updated tally as of March 2023: I’ve biked in 28 of 39 counties. Not bad for not having any systematic approach to this (and for having a global pandemic eliminate almost all travel for over 2 of those years in my life). It is also quite entirely possible that I have had coffee in each and every one of the boldfaced counties plus several of the ones in which I have yet to ride.
*I had the pleasure of being in on the creation of Cycling Sojourner Washington when I was with Washington Bikes.

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Reader Comments

  1. Nice inspiration share!!!

    It’s really easy to say but really hard to do when we are attent any kind of competetion and select a goal. Bike riding is also a habby and also a challenging part of life.

    All The best Wishes to you for your more success with best riding Life.

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